Goals Update: April

Happy April! Here’s how I did on my March fitness goals and what goals I’m making for April.

March Goals

1. Run at least 84 miles to stay on track for my 1,000-mile yearly goal. Yes! In fact, I reached a new PR for highest mileage month ever: 146.57! (Note: I checked my math three times because I couldn’t believe it.) My previous monthly mileage PR was September 2014 when I was training for a half marathon and ran 112.08. This training cycle I’ve focused on higher volume. I need to do a separate post about this because I think higher volume really works for me.

2. Run the Just a Short Run Half Marathon as a training run at the end of March. Yes!Here’s my recap if you missed it. While just a training run, this was probably my best race ever in terms of executing my pacing strategy and feeling so good during a race.

3. Continue training for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon and do not miss a workout. Yes! I didn’t miss any scheduled runs and didn’t cut any short. This continues my streak of doing all my runs outside.

4. Create and follow a new strength training routine, or adapt my current one a little.Yes! I still owe a post about this, but my new strength training routine is twice a week and focuses on functional strength training with plyometrics. I have not missed any of my strength workouts.

5. Continue to do yoga most days.
Yes! I am continuing to do dedicated yoga sessions 3-4 days a week. In addition, I have been doing shorter yoga sessions as recovery after runs and sometimes even in my office on my lunch break.

6. Track points in Weight Watchers. So, here’s the thing. I’m not
unhappy with my current weight, and I’ve been reading that you shouldn’t
try to lose weight when you’re training for an an endurance event.
However, I am just 2 pounds about my goal weight range (which is two
pounds above or below your goal weight), and once in that range I won’t
have to pay for Weight Watchers. So, my goal for the month will just be
to track, but I’m undecided if I should just lose the 2 pounds so I
don’t have to pay or start eating more and focusing on maintaining
because I’ll need more fuel as my mileage increases.No. 🙁 I’ve been very sporadic about my tracking, likely because I wasn’t trying to lose weight this month. I also haven’t done weekly weigh-ins, so I’m not sure what exactly my weight is, but I suspect I’ve gained 1-2 pounds. I can feel it. This month I continued eating more to fuel my runs, and I do think it’s helped my performance. (This also needs to be another post.) However, it was very difficult for me to see how many more points I was eating than I usually do. So I just stopped tracking. And when I stopped tracking, I stopped being accountable for dipping my hand in the pretzel bag over and over again and eating cashews like they’re going out of style. So I don’t think any weight I’ve gained is because I’m eating more carbs to fuel properly but because of snacking and bigger portions. That’s why tracking is so importan!

April Goals

April is my last month of training before the Pittsburgh Half Marathon on May 3.

1. Run at least 84 miles to stay on track for my 1,000-mile yearly goal.

3. Continue training for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon and do not miss a workout, except if doing a workout would negatively impact my health (see also #7). While I am not planning on missing a workout, I may alter my plan slightly. At the end of my last training cycle, I substituted runs at race pace for speedwork, and I might do that again. Also, I’ve built such a strong foundation and am already so well prepared for the race that at this point resting and recovering if my body needs it is more important that getting the miles in. I’m not going to start skipping workouts willy nilly, but I’m also not going to feel guilty skipping one to stay healthy.

4. Continue my strength training routine, or reduce to once a week. I had originally planned to reduce my strength work to once a week on my most high volume weeks. However, I think strength training really helps me maintain my weight and prevent injuries, and doing it twice a week is very doable. I think I’ll leave the option of doing it once a week, but I plan on doing it twice most weeks.

5. Continue to do yoga most days.

6. Track points in Weight Watchers. Again, I am not focused on weight loss because I want to make sure I’m fueling properly. But I do want to track points to help me better manage portions and reduce snacking.

7. Stay healthy. People don’t believe me when I say this, but I’ve never been sick as an adult. The last time I was sick was when I had to get my gall bladder out in college. I’ve never had the flu, I’ve never had a serious illness, and I rarely even catch colds. Knock on wood. So the chance of me getting sick right before the race is pretty slim. However, I need to be more cautious in general. On runs, I need to keep my eye out for sticks and holes that I could trip over. If I’m walking the dog, I shouldn’t break into a sprint with him if I’m not wearing my running shoes. I will be running my highest volume weeks in April, so if my body needs a rest, I should take a rest instead of pushing myself. Getting to the start line health is my top priority this month.

Comments

Yes yes yes to your #3 and #7 April Goals. As we inch closer and closer to the big day the focus has to shift from build build build/fast fast fast! No extra speedwork or extra other stresses you put on yourself at the end of April via training will help you on race day. During the taper especially, your body needs to repair and rejuvenate! Getting to the starting line healthy is the most important thing! Your goals are well thought out and solid, in my opinion!Congrats on the monthly mileage PR – it's always exciting coming to the end of a month and thinking "Wow, I really did all THAT?!?!".

Seems like you are doing a great job with your training! Wo 146 is a lot of miles! You are one lucky lady not to get sick. I have had cold after cold since February. My little son brings everything home from daycare! Urgh!

I think #7 at this point is the most important. You'll do great because I know you'll pay attention to your body and rest if necessary. That's some impressive mileage you've put in. I think my March mileage was around 90. I rested quite a bit between my H/Ms. I will be base building again in the warm weather when I'm not racing as much. Here's to an awesome April.

146 is an amazing monthly number! You crushed your goal..way to go! Great job keeping up with your goals, and I hope you get all of your April goals, most important staying healthy. The goal now is just getting to the start line since you put in so much work! Good luck!

I laughed when I read about sprinting with your dog not in running shoes. I ran an evening 10k last April (or was it April 2013?). I was dying — it was warmer than usual and I had paced okay, but that still means the end is tough. A faster friend was out cheering in his work clothes (no tie, but button shirt and slacks, and dress shoes). He saw me around mile 5.2 and was yelling and cheering. I told him I was dying and he jumped in the race (in his dress shoes!) and ran me to about 6.1. It was the sweetest thing ever, but I was so paranoid that he'd get blisters or something and ruin his first Boston. He didn't, but we both agreed it was one of those "never again" things!

What an awesome mileage PR! It's great to see you hitting everything, all cylinders firing! I hear you on the weight thing. I don't monitor mine, but I can tell I've put on some extra "baggage" this training cycle, a first for me. I'm not concerned about it right now, but will once this race is done. I agree the most important thing is to stay healthy. And to listen to your body – even if it means a missed work out. Keep it up!

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Running is no fun if you don't look cute doing it! In this blog I share my passion for running and activewear. I'm chronicling my ever-evolving journey as a runner. I also post activewear reviews, healthy plant-based recipes, and pictures of my greyhound and kitties. Read more about me. Thanks for visiting!